Worshipping God
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During a 1954 interview A.W. Tozer, a great pastor and editor of the Alliance Witness, was asked what he thought would awaken the church from its complacency in worshipping God. This was his response:
“In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that light-hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple. The holy art of worship seems to have passed away like the Shekinah glory from the tabernacle. As a result, we are left to our own devices and forced to make up the lack of spontaneous worship by bringing in countless cheap and tawdry activities to hold the attention of the church people.”
If we are truly entering into the presence of the Lord, we’ll have the attitudes of great men of the faith who entered into the presence of the Lord. This is what I believe contemporary worship lacks.
In Daniel 10:8, Daniel sees the Lord and says, “my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” Isaiah in Isaiah 6:5 at the vision of the Lord says “Woe is me! For I am undone.” John in Revelation 1:17 sees the resurrected Lord and writes: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.”
Contrast these Biblical attitudes with the following Barna statistics concerning church attenders today:
* Four out of five individuals (83%) say they leave the services feeling accepted or completely loved by God “every time” or “most of the time.” (2002)
* Three out of five (62%) say they typically feel like they have connected with God or been in His presence in most cases. (2002)
* Half of the congregants (50%) frequently leave feeling challenged to change. (2002)
* Two out of three adults (69%) usually leave feeling inspired. (2002)
Are believers today who claim to worship Jesus Christ really worshipping God?
Today, in an age where many put their Christian faith in experiences and visions and when many who claim to have had a “supernatural experience” with God, claiming to enter into the presence of the Almighty, conclude with a feel good experience without any realization of how wicked they truly are.
As true believers in Jesus Christ individually and collectively as a church, if we are truly entering into the presence of an Almighty and Holy God, how can we walk around with any other attitude than Isaiah’s attitude of Woe is me?
Why are we not like John and falling at His feet as dead?
Why do we have attitudes of self-glorification instead of Daniel’s attitude of “my comeliness was turned in me into corruption?”
I am not saying that we should not feel loved by God or not feel accepted by Him. I am not saying that we shouldn’t be inspired, but the point is if we are truly entering into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and are united in intimate praise and worship to Him, we will be in awe of who He is and we will exalt His name.
I believe believers today do not understand the true worship experience, nor understand Biblically how to worship God.
This is generally speaking of course.
What I am saying is:
Why are we not in awe at the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why is there no passion and zeal in the body of believers individually and as a church body to exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ even though 3 out of 5 church attenders say they “feel” they have connected with God or been in His presence, yet only half of them leave the service feeling challenged to change but 2/3 leave the service feeling inspired?
Could it be because we are not truly entering into His presence? Could it be because we are not dwelling in His presence or encountering Him in an intimate relationship?
When we are truly desiring God and seek to have a true encounter with the Holy God and when we truly come into His Holy presence, we can’t help but to realize how vile and wicked we truly are. We can’t help but to stand in awe of Him and who He is. It is a heart wrenching experience where the very foundation of our bones and marrow tremble and the very essence of the foundation of our souls are shaken and laid bare in realization of how wicked, vile and sinful we truly are. This is when we can begin to understand what worshipping God is.
When we come to that point, we can’t help but to praise Him for who He is. The problem is how only a few come to that point in life. If we never come to that point in life, how can we understand what true praise is if we are not encountering Him and in a true sense experiencing Him in a true intimate and loving relationship? Is it something we can learn from book smarts? Can we learn it through Bible study? Is it through serving in a ministry? How can we really understand what true praise and worship is?
If we are to worship God in spirit and in truth, we must understand what worshipping God truly means.
More on:
Praise and Worship
Christian Praise and Worship
Biblical Worship
Biblical Praise
Christian Worship
